Publication Date: 01st July 2025 (first published in March 2014)
Genre: Social Drama, Contemporary Fiction
4 Stars
One Liner: Interesting!
Bookseller Laurent Letellier finds an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street. He picks it up, intending to return it to its owner. However, the bag has no contact information, except for a little red notebook where the owner wrote her thoughts. As Laurent reads the book, he feels connected with her and wants to meet her. But he knows neither her name nor her address. Can he find the owner of the red notebook in the large city?
The story comes in the third-person POVs of multiple characters.
My Thoughts:
This is the English translation of a French novella. The setting is the beautiful Paris with its cafes, bookstores, and lovely streets, which aren’t devoid of dark elements like thieves.
The book starts with a graphic mugging incident. If this is a trigger, skim through the first two pages. The rest is fine.
Though this is a kind of romance, it is not your typical one. I’d rather call it general fiction with a sprinkling of rom.
Considering the premise of the MMC trying to find the bag’s owner, the book veers into stalking territory at times. That cannot be avoided. However, the author handles it with care and doesn’t make the reader feel uncomfortable. The MMC is aware of how his actions might seem and does his best not to act like a creep. It helps that he is not a bad guy.
The POV mostly jumps between the FMC and MMC, though we also get a few scenes from other characters. I wish the ARC were better formatted since these changes occur even in the middle of a paragraph, which is confusing and annoying.
I don’t want to reveal more since this story is best enjoyed without prior knowledge. Go where the book leads you! It’ll be an entertaining ride!
We also meet two cats and a couple of authors. There are a few discussions about writing and books, too!
The book ends on a hopeful note. It is a happy ending, of course, but the slice-of-life kind. I like how everything gets rounded up.
To summarize, The Red Notebook is a short yet sweet, poignant, and heartwarming story. It touches upon various themes and ends on a positive note.
Thank you, NetGalley and Pushkin Press, for eARC.
#NetGalley #TheRedNotebook
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